"Paradise is where I am." Voltaire might have intended this to explain his capacity to be in such a state regardless of his outside surroundings, or maybe he wrote it while he was somewhere sublime. Either way, this quotation sprung to my conscious as soon as I saw the waterfall.
It's my birthday. I'm 23 years old. Twenty three is an age that floats under the spectrum of significance. Twenty two is just one year past the legal drinking age of 21, and 24 is approaching the halfway point of the rapidly fleeting decade of selfishness and fun. At 22, you're still a kid. At 24, you'd better be living it up while you still can. At 23...meh. Ironically, my 23rd birthday was the greatest birthday I have ever had. Why? Because on this day I found Eden.
Katy and I have been struggling to regain vitality throughout the frustrations in Mbale, and one tactic we have adopted is weekend getaways. We've fantasized about exploring Sipi Falls, just an hour away, since we decided on Uganda as a destination. A quick Google search revealed a very affordable hostel and invigorating images of trees, waterfalls, and bliss. A couple email reservations later, we were committed. My birthdays tended to fall on rather unfortunate times of my life, waning them of importance or the normal anticipated excitement. This is the year that finally turned around. We opted for a private hire (taxi) for safety and stability reasons, and gave ourselves an hour to pick up some goodies before jetting off. Espresso over ice cream--yes, coffee AND dessert--jumpstarted our joy with more caffeine and sugar than we've had since our arrival, and a quick stop at the Happy Supermarket for wine, nutella, and peanut butter (makeshift Reeses, our favorite candy) set our jubilance level to 110%.
In just under one hour our atmosphere changed from melancholy mayhem to lush, quiet, peace. We threw our bags in our adorable little cabin, then skipped down to the reception area to take in every nook and cranny of our weekend home. Moses, a worker who showed us our room, mentioned the word "swing" down a path next to the reception. I was off at a gallup before he could finish his sentence. Undeniably the coolest swing ever, this bad boy was simply a piece of wood with two hanging ropes attached to one massive, beautiful tree. I sat down, wrapped my trembling hands around the ropes, and looked out at jungle and waterfalls. Katy joined me and we giggled and pointed and pumped the swing back and forth like we were six years old again. This wasn't Moses' first rodeo. He grabbed our cameras and documented our elation from multiple angles and levels. If I was told that I was confined to just that swing for the rest of my life, I would have responded with, "Thank you!"
We ate chips with guacamole and salsa from one equally gorgeous viewpoint, then feasted on rice, veggies, and a bamboo shoot sauce from yet another cute table overlooking the mountainside. I must have gushed, "Best birthday EVER!!" at least 15 times that day. While eating the guac and chips earlier in the day, a perfectly sweet creature popped up from under our table. Niet (pronounced Night) is about the size of a dog that should weigh about 45 pounds. She probably weighed around 20 at most. Just skin, bones, big ears and milky way eyes, our heartstrings connected instantly. She's timid but brave as she carefully curled up at our feet and gently ate chips that we fed her. Our dinner portions were so massive that I asked Moses if we could give the rest to Niet. He consented with a smile, and I shot up to go find her. Our new friend spent the whole night and morning curled up outside of our room, where I fell asleep scheming how to take her back to the US with me.
We met Moses at 8:00 AM, itching to begin our hike. There are three waterfalls: The first at the very top is the second largest at 85 meters, the second, at 75 meters, has a cave underneath to explore and an area to stand as the pelting water chills your skin and enlivens every cell in your body. The third waterfall is the largest at 100 meters, and is the main one visible from every inch of the hostel's location on the opposing mountainside. In between each waterfall are thick and expansive farming fields, sporadic hut houses, sparkling creeks, and two frolicking blonde girls. I imagined what I confidently felt it was like back in Jurassic Park days, as well as what it would be like to be a Silverback Gorilla clunking through the brush. Every centimeter of this expansive hike is pure magic. We walked through tree tunnels formed by coffee trees, banana trees, plantain trees, maize, pea plants, and wildflowers each found within a ten foot radius. Then we'd turn a corner to find a mud hut with children playing something looking like foursquare, just like kids back home in suburbia. Moses stopped occasionally to show us different plants used for medicine, first aid, and even natural toilet paper. I asked Moses if he ever tires of taking people on these tours. He looks at me like I'm joking. How could anyone tire of strolls through the Garden of Eden?
Katy and I met a group of Peace Corps volunteers also exploring Sipi for a weekend getaway. They had all been in Uganda for about eight months, and thus had mounds of advice and stories to share with us. One member of the group was 50-something year old Robin from Olympia, Washington. She had an om symbol on one hand and a dove on the opposite wrist. Yeah, we liked Robin. Our takeaway from the group is that in order to accomplish anything, such as our challenges with the schools they're each working with and with Taata Kids, one must rely on forming relationships with the people. Then, convince them that your improvement ideas were their own. Also, we were correct in that all of it takes time. Like years. So our decision to change our project to a website makeover and a few other smaller tasks was more than reasonable.
Two guys in the cabin next to us further confirmed our resolutions and wonderings. They're medical students from UBC, an hour from Bellingham, working in a hospital here for about a month. Their advice: scale your project objectives way, way down. And change your mindset to be content with those small accomplishments as substantial still. Bluntly and deservedly a shot to my ego, one of them kept telling me, "You can't save Uganda. And it's naive to think so." I'm happy to report that this is finally starting to sink in. After seeing several shooting stars cascade across the hypnotizing sky feeling just barely out of arm's reach, we thanked our new friends and turned in. Friendship dynamics while traveling are funny; you instantly open up and reveal many of your deepest secrets and closeted weaknesses, form inside jokes that usually take years of close friendship to manifest, then say casual goodbyes like you'll see each other tomorrow, even though you're likely to never see them again. These people claim a spot on the shelf of your heart, though. Regardless of our backgrounds or reasons for traveling, we are here. In this foreign place. Stumbling through all the poor translations and mishaps that are the main ingredients in these adventures. We are all so brave for embarking on this endeavor called travel, and that is our connection. Then our intentions to come together for comfort, advice, release, and always plenty of laughter form life-impacting bonds. Facebook and email make things pretty easy, too.
Katy and I also spent the weekend trying to tap into our heart's guidance. This is always infinitely easier out in nature. Although many things about ourselves were realized, such as it being crucial to our wellness to be near water sources and natural beauty, more questions and uncertainties bubbled up. I'm constantly searching for that formula or published psychology study confirming the why's and how's of my and everyone's thoughts and actions. Considering there not being such a formula for something...ouch, says my ego. But my heart kept gently whispering the same advice: Just let go. Take care of yourself, and trust the rest.
The only other time I was so aware of my blissful spirit and the euphoric energy vibrating through my body, where I knew what it was like to be 100% present and 110% alive, was when I hiked the Sahale Arm back home. After that hike I was worried such a high would be very hard to experience again. Less than one year later, I've once again been transported, mind, body and soul, to nirvana on earth. Happy birthday to me.
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